Working Poor

Overview: Who Are the Working Poor?

One could define the working poor as all individuals whose earnings place them below the U.S. poverty line. Another strict definition would include only those living in households below the poverty line where one individual was formally employed. A surprisingly large number of poor adults, and even homeless individuals, hold at least one formal job. Many others work informally, or “off the books.” A more accurate definition of the working poor would include households with income near the poverty level, perhaps up to twice the official poverty line, where one individual is formally employed. A more expansive definition of the working poor includes all households with a formally employed individual yet still lacking economic security, which includes approximately 33 percent to 50 percent of Americans. Katherine Newman and Victor Tan Chen characterize the near poor as the “missing class.” Together, these financially insecure individuals, who despite “playing by the rules” and working (many with full-time or near full-time hours) continue to toil for less remuneration than required for economic security. These families exist on the precipice of hardship, one missed paycheck or health emergency from destitution.

Housekeepers clean at the Lake Tholocco West Beach Singing Pines Cabins, July 24, 2009. Many working-poor jobs are low-status positions and can also can be repetitive. Some working poor, such as in hospitals or hotels, report feeling invisible.

The working poor can be found in almost every sector of the American economy. They occupy job positions in hospitality, retail, food services, meatpacking, call centers, and health care. Some of the working poor are employed by major multinational corporations, and others work for universities, nonprofits, or small businesses, among other employers.

The growth of the working poor parallels the increased formal employment of women. Because a disproportionate number of poverty-wage jobs are held by women, especially in the service sector, the working poor are disproportionately female. Less-educated single mothers are particularly at risk to end up in the ranks of the working poor. In addition, recent immigrants, such as those with limited English language fluency and/or lacking formal education, skills, and training, such as youth or women re-entering the labor market after raising children, are at higher risk of joining the working poor. Racial and ethnic minority workers are also disproportionately represented among the working poor. Although some working poor, such as suburban teenagers working at local fast food restaurants, occupy poverty-wage job positions only for a temporary period of time before capitalizing on additional education, training, and work experience to secure better employment opportunities, a substantial number of working poor remain trapped in poverty-wage jobs over the long term (or even worse, in the cases of incarceration [Page 1007]or long-term unemployment). When the working poor secure a new job position, they often find themselves in jobs with characteristics similar to their previous employment: inadequate wages and benefits and limited job security. Even in a time of economic recession, when struggling American families receive much media attention, the working poor remain understudied and largely invisible in the public realm. They struggle in some of the most physically challenging and dangerous jobs in the lower tiers of the service sector, agriculture, and what's left of manufacturing, and their large and growing ranks pose a fundamental challenge.

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